Dripless pitcher



Oct' 19, 1965 M. J. nl FIERRO ETAL 3,212,686v

DRIPLESS PITCHER Filed June 22, 1964 la la 2l W00. may

United States Patent O 3,212,636 DRlPLESS PITCHER Michael .1. Di Pierro, Shrewsbury, and J. Richard Lawrence, Worcester, Mass., assignors to The Washburn Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed .lune 22, 1964, Ser. No. 376,782 7 Claims. (Cl. 222-472) This invention relates to a new and improved dripless pitcher designed to handle syrup, cream, salad dressing, ice cream topping, honey and other liquids, our invention being particularly directed toward improvements in the plastic top or cap and closure construction with a view to attaining the following objectives:

(l) Simplicity and economy of construction, by molding the screw-on cap of a simple form in one piece with a handle, and molding the closure of a simple form in another piece with a rearwardly extending operating lever and also a rearwardly extending attaching, generallyrectangular, but slightly tapering, attaching lug portion integral with the closure and arranged to be slidably interlocked with the cap with a close lit between dove-tailed shaped portions on opposite sides of a depressed channel in the top wall of the cap, a projection on one side of the depressed channel entering a notch on the corresponding side of the lug to lock the closure in place securely enough but yet permit removal for occasional cleaning of both parts thoroughly for good sanitation;

(2) The attaching lug is molded at a predetermined acute angle of downward inclination with respect to the plane of the closure and is integrally connected with the closure by a downwardly arched transverse web which serves the double purpose of serving as a spring hinge pretensioned to hold the closure tightly closed and return it to closed position when opened in addition to snapping into a transverse groove in the front end of the depressed channel in the cap when the lug is moved home in the channel in assembling the closure on the cap, this arched web portion snapping into place in the groove at the same time that the aforementioned projection in one side of the channel enters the notch in that side of the lug and the lug reaches the rear end of the channel to mark the completion of the assembling operation, the raising of the lug into substantially coplanar relationship to the closure as necessitated for the assembling operating giving the -desired preload tension in the integral hinge web to insure suiciently tight closing of the closure, and

(3) A V-shaped pouring spout is provided on the front of the cap to give better direction to the flow in pouring liquids, and the closure has a matching V-shaped front end portion with a bevelled edge al1 around it on its bottom face to engage a correspondingly bevelled seat all around the inside of the spout to provide a good seal and nip off the drops at the point of the V-spout so that there will be less likelihood of any dripping when the spout is closed.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a dripless pitcher made in accordance with our invention and shown on a reduced scale, and

FIGS. 2 to 7 are all enlarged views, as follows:

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the assembled pitcher top removed from the pitcher, a portion of the closure operating lever being broken away to show the lock feature on the closure attaching lug;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail corresponding to the upper portion of FIG. 3 but showing the closure opened by downward pressure on the closure operating lever as indicated by an arrow;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the closure and its attaching lug with the operating lever broken away, the view being taken on the line 5 5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section on the line 6 6 of FIG. 3 with the attaching lug of the closure removed to enable showing the vertical locking projection in one side of the dove-tail channel, and

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-section on the line 7--7 of FIG. 3 showing how the closure ts in the pouring spout.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 10 designates generally a dripless pitcher made in accordance with out invention consisting of a glass jar 11, a plastic screw-on top or cap 12 with pouring spout 13 on the front thereof and an integral handle 14 on the rear, our invention being particularly concerned with improvements in the pouring spout 13 and the hinged plastic closure 15 therefor having an integral arm or lever 16 for the manipulation thereof and also an integral attaching lug 17 an integral hinge 18 connecting the closure 15 with the lug 17.

The two parts of this novel assembly are molded of any suitable plastic material, such as polypropylene, which is chip proof, dishwasher proof and boiling water proof, besides having the desired durability, elasticity and resilience. The top or cap 12 has threads molded therein as indicated at 19 for screw-on application to the threaded neck 20 of the pitcher. A generally rectangular hollow boss 21 is provided diametrically of the top wall 22 of the cap, and the spout 13, which is V-shaped, as best appears in FIG. 2, is defined on the front end of this boss, the handle 14 being formed as an integral extension off the rear end of said boss as indicated at 23. The top wall 24 of the boss 21 has a dove-tail channel 25 formed as a depression in the top thereof in which, due to its slight taper toward the rear, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and the matching taper on the lug 17, the lug 17 is adapted to be wedgingly engaged, with the dovetailed longitudinal edges 26 on the lug 17 engaging the dovetail shaped side portions 27 of the channel 25. A rounded vertical projection 28 molded integral with the cap is arranged to engage in a notch 29 provided in the relieved end of the corresponding longitudinal edge portion of the lug 17, as seen in FIG. 2, to allow the lug to be snapped into place-locking the lug 17 quite securely but releasably in the channel 25, thus permitting removal of the closure 15 occasionally for thorough cleaning of the top assembly to keep it in a good sanitary condition. Molding the closure 15 separate from the top or cap 12 is therefore of advantage from the standpoint just mentioned in addition to simplifying and reducing the cost of molds and reducing production costs all around. Replacement of a defective or damaged closure 15 is obviously a simple matter and one involving very little expense. The customer is therefore better satisfied in the long run with this construction.

At the front end of the top wall 24 of the boss 21 a generally pentagonal shaped pouring opening 30 is provided in the top of which a bevelled seat 31 is defined to match the bevelled bottom portion 32 on the closure 15, whereby to have the closure 15 eifectively seal the pitcher when closed, the matching V-shaped front end 33 of the closure 15 and the V-shaped front 34 of the pouring 13 giving the further advantage that any remaining droplets after a pouring operation will be neatly nipped 0E and none will be apt to run down on the outside of the spout. The V-shape of the spout at 34 is, however, also important because it gives better direction to flow in pouring.

In conclusion, the integral hinge 18 extends transversely of the front end of the lug 17 and is slightly narrower than said lug, as indicated at 35 in FIG. 5, and it is downwardly arched, partly to reduce likelihood of fatigue in the flexing of the closure relative to the lug 17, and partly serve as a rounded detent to snap into place in a transverse groove 36 provided in the front end of the depressed ichannel in the cap, this arched web portion snapping into place in the groove at the same time that the projection 28 enters the notch 29 and the lug 17 reaches the rear end 37 `of the channel, marking the oompletion of the assembling operation. The lug 17 is molded at a predetermined acute angle of downward inclination with respect to the plane of the closure 15, as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 3, and, when the closure 15 is being assembled on the cap 12, the lug 17 has to be raised to substantially coplanar relationship to the closure and in that way there is the desired preloading of the integral hinge web 18 to insure suiciently tight closing of the closure.

In operation, it is a simple matter for the maid or housewife to remove the closure 15 by forward pressure on the front end of the lever 16. With the closure removed, all areas on both molded parts can be thoroughly cleaned without any dilculty, and hence good sanitation is assured. After cleaning, the closure can be easily replaced by entry of the lug 17 in the channel 2S, the transverse hinge portion 18 snapping into place in the groove 36 at the same time that the projection 28 snaps into the notch 29 to mark the completion of the assembling operation.

It is belived the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

1. In a closure structure of the character described, the combination of a body member having a pouring spout opening provided therein, a plastic closure tiltable relative to said body member to and from a position closing said opening, a plastic lever integral with and extending upwardly and rearwardly from said closure for manipulating the same, a plastic attaching lug extending from said closure, means for securing said attaching lug to said body independently of said closure and lever, and resilient plastic hinge means integral with said lug and closure and supporting said closure in tiltable relationship to said body by its integral connection with said lug.

2. A closure structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body has a recess provided therein in which said lug is detachably engaged, the structure including cooperating detent means integral with said lug and the recessed porton of said body for locking said lug releasably in place in said recess.

3. A closure structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hinge means comprises an arched web portion extending transversely of the inner end of said lug connecting the lug with said closure, said arched web portion projecting from the plane of said lug and adapted to serve as a resilient detent, said body having a recess in which said lug is detachably engaged, there being a detent groove provided in said body transversely of the outer end of the corresponding side of said recess into which said arched web portion is arranged to engage and thereby releasably lock said lug in place in said recess.

4. A closure structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hinge means comprises an arched web portion eX- tending transversely of the inner end of said lug connecting the lug with said closure, said arched web portion projecting from the plane of said lug and adapted to Serve as a resilient detent, said body having a recess in which said lug is detachably engaged, there being a detent groove provided in said body transversely of the outer end of the corresponding side of said recess into which said arched web portion is arranged to engage and thereby .releasably lock said lug in place in said recess, and there being in addition a detent projection integral with and on the end of'said lug remote from said arched web arranged to be resiliently engaged behind a detent shoulder on the body at the corresponding end of said recess. Y

5. A closure structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body has a recess provided therein in which said lug is detachably engaged, the structure including a detent projection integral with and on the end of said lug remote from said hinge arranged to be resiliently engaged behind a detent shoulder on the body at the corresponding end of said recess.

6. A closure structure for a syrup pitcher as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pouring spout has a V-shaped pouring lip, and said closure hinged relative to said spout to .swing to and from a closed position has a V-shaped front end tting in the V-shaped pouring lip to nip off droplets of liquid left on the lip after pouring so as to reduce the likelihood of liquid running down on the outside of said spout.

7. A closure structure for a syrup pitcher as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pouring spout has a V-shaped pouring lip, and said closure hinged relative to said spout to swing to and from a closed position has a V-shaped front end fitting in the V-shaped pouring lip to nip off any droplets of liquid left on the lip after pouring so as to lreduce the likelihood lof -liquid running down on vthe outside of said spout, said spout having a bevelled seat therein around the upper edge including the lip portion, and said closure having a mating bevelled edge on the underside thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 902,705 ll/ 08 Anderson 222-556 2,272,867 2/42 Cobel 222-517 X 2,886,218 5/59 Marcus 222-556 X 3,052,386 9/62 Martorelli 222-517 3,157,322 ll/64 Bernhardt 222-157 3,168,226 2/ 65 Underwood et al. 222--472 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,206,773 2/ 60 France.

M. HENSON WOOD, IR., Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, LOUIS I. DEMBO, Examiners. 

1. IN A CLOSURE STRUCTURE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, THE COMBINATION OF A BODY MEMBER HAVING A POURING SPOUT OPENING PROVIDED THEREIN, A PLASTIC CLOSURE TILTABLE RELATIVE TO SAID BODY MEMBER TO AND FROM A POSITION CLOSING SAID OPENING, A PLASTIC LEVER INTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY AND REWARDLY FROM SAID CLOSURE FOR MANIPULATING THE SAME, A PLASTIC ATTACHING LUG EXTENDING FROM SAID CLOSURE, MEANS FOR SECURING SAID ATTACHING LUG TO SAID BODY INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID CLOSURE AND LEVER, AND RESILIENT PLASTIC HINGE MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID LUG AND CLOSURE AND SUPPORTING SAID CLOSURE IN TILTABLE RELATIONSHIP TO SAID BODY B Y ITS INTEGRAL CONNECTION WITH SAID LUG. 